More Expedition Photos

A panel of judges confirmed that I have never once looked this cute brushing my teeth.

English class in Galte San Juan.

This was a new concept for them and they could not get enough of it.

Hard at work moving construction materials.

I assure you that no one was this serious after the photo when I let them review it on the screen.

The Vice President of San Juan and our Red Cross volunteers building the new slide.

Arts and Crafts time with some new friends.

The climate is bitter, but the stunning beauty more than makes up for it.

Throwin' some mud. He got really good at it by the second day...

Building a new school for Galte Miraloma.

The children were enthralled with the puppet show, "Tontín."

Expedition artists finishing up the mural.

Peace, Love and a new playground.

Galte San Juan/Miraloma, Chimborazo, Ecuador. July 2009. (Photos: Caleb Braley)

Ascend Expedition Video

Reflections on the Expedition

The July 2009 Ascend Expedition was a success and an amazing experience for all who attended. I may be venturing into the territory of artistic license in making that claim for everyone, but I'm certain that no one would disagree.

We worked together on a variety of projects:

• English Classes
• Reproductive Health/Prevention Classes
• Workshops on Better Utilization of Local Crops
• Cooking Classes
• Medical Campaign
• Construction of an Oven
• Construction of a New School Building
• Construction of a Playground
• Restoration of a Classroom
• Arts and Crafts Workshops (Including a Puppet Show)
• Wall Mural

We also experienced a fascinating cultural exchange with the people of Galte San Juan and Miraloma, the two communities where the expedition took place. I personally spent a lot of time facilitating communication during the projects. Kichwa (a dialect of Quechua) is the first language for most rural residents of the Chimborazo province, meaning that Spanish comes in second. Despite the fact that we all had to meet halfway and communicate in our second languages, the level of understanding remained high as we all worked together towards a common goal: improving the quality of live for the people of Galte San Juan and Miraloma.

I'd also like to take this chance to thank all of the expedition participants. It was very heartwarming to see a group of fellow Americans who are conscious of the reality and needs of others, and furthermore, willing to donate their time, hearts and minds to assist folks in need. I speak of behalf of all of us here at Ascend Alliance when I say that we are very thankful that this wonderful group of friends chose to dedicate themselves to serve with Ascend. We hope to work with you all again in the near future.




The Park City Five

Being part of this expedition was especially inspiring because it was carried out in memory of 5 very special people. I was very moved by the way the families and friends of these children who tragically passed away were able to come together and make something so incredibly positive out of such a difficult loss.

In 2008, five young graduates of Park City High School (ages 17-20) tragically died between the months of February and September. These five students had the opportunity to attend a great high school and it was their parents’ wish that a school be built in their memory in another area of the world where it is desperately needed. The Park City 5 Memorial Fund was established to raise money to build a sister-school in Riobamba, Ecuador. The fund also offers 5 annual scholarships to distribute to PCHS students who may wish to travel to Ecuador to help build the school and work with the local population. The building of this school will not only benefit the children of Ecuador but the students of PCHS who will maintain an on-going relationship with the school and a general cultural and language exchange.

Please visit the Park City Five website to learn more: http://parkcity5.blogspot.com/

Galte San Juan/Miraloma, Chimborazo, Ecuador. July 2009. (Photos: Caleb Braley)

The Expedition Begins!

Hey all! This is Amanda, intern for the Riobamba office. We are so excited because tomorrow starts our big expedition in the communities of Galte San Juan and Galte Miraloma.

A group of 50 from Utah has just arrived to Quito and will be meeting us in the communities tomorrow afternoon. We are excited to help the people of these communities out as much as we can.

Our planned activities include:

• building a classroom
• building a cafeteria
• building two community brick ovens
• teaching business classes (how to earn money selling bread and artisans)
• repairing community parks
• building new school playgrounds
• a medical campaign
• a wall mural
• remodeling a classroom
• personal hygiene training
• nutrition training
• help with a potato harvest
• computer classes
• making puppets, a puppet theater, and putting on a show with the kids
• teaching the people how to use their local, nutritious crops (quinoa and chochos) to make delicious food so that they will use these crops and be healthier.
• art and games with the kids
• first aid training

Needless to say, we are going to be BUSY these next few days, but we're looking forward to improving the lives of the people in these communities and it will be a great time.

I'll keep you updated on how it all goes!

VACA LOCA!!

Last Friday marked the end of Corpus Christi, a seven day celebration and one of the most important roman catholic holidays in Ecuador. For those of you (like myself) who don't have a clue what this holiday is or where it came from I'll give a brief history.

According to the source of all knowledge (wikipedia) the first appearance of the holiday on the Christian calendar came after petitions of the thirteenth-century Augustinian nun Juliana of Liége. Juliana always had great respect and veneration for the holy sacrament and longed for a special feast or holiday in it's honor. She later had a vision in which she saw the Church under the light of a full moon with one dark spot. She felt that this dark spot signified the absence of such a holiday to commemorate the holy sacrament.

In 1208 she received another vision in which Christ himself commanded that she plead with the church authorities for the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi. Juliana eventually convinced the authorities and in 1246 Bishop Robert de Thorete, Bishop of Liége, ordered a celebration of Corpus Christi to be held each year thereafter.

Keeping this brief historical summary in mind, it is extremely fun to try to fill in the gap between the Augustinian nun's humble supplication for a feast to commemorate the holy sacrament and giant paper replicas of an indian woman, her male counterpart, and a giant bull, all equipped with explosives, dancing through crowds of terrified, screaming, unarmed, Ecuadorian citizens, which is exactly what I we saw last Friday night. I know what you are thinking... AMAZING!! Right? I was initially impressed but I didn't fall in love with the holiday until I saw la vaca loca lower it's horns, take aim, and deliberately shoot people at head level with roman candles. I couldn't help but think about how many people would have been arrested for this type of behavior in the states.

I'm sure that for someone not familiar with western culture easter bunnies, pine trees, elves, reign deer, and chimneys would be equally hard to link to Jesus as the fire breathing vaca loca. No matter how obscure the relationship seemed to me I thoroughly enjoyed this peace of national individualism.

QUE VIVA LA VACA LOCA!